After a long weekend spent sick at home, a bit of sunshine was just what the doctor ordered. The hubby and I took an easy stroll at the Michigan City Lighthouse, soaking up God’s blessings.
Out on the Pier
Month: June 2023
This is Amazing!
The Holy Spirit is at work in the world, in my childhood home no less! It’s such a blessing to encounter stories like this, especially ones involving the vibrant, gorgeous Colorado town where I grew up. This was a welcome read and I’m sending prayers to the community of St. Stephen Catholic Church that they can continue to walk with Jesus in all things.
I Need My Man
In a world full of girl bosses intent on shattering that (imagined) glass ceiling the “I don’t need no man” attitude is nearly inescapable. It’s everywhere and often accompanied by some amount of condescending head bobbing and finger snapping. I’ve certainly fallen prey to it in the past. It’s so pervasive in society that it’s even seeped into the hearts of practicing Catholics.
We heard it in our very own Catholic marriage prep while in discussion with current married couples. One woman boasted this logic even as her husband sat beside her. How can you imply that you don’t need a man when the man you vowed to give your life to sits quietly by? What can possibly be his purpose in this arrangement if you’re so perfectly invincible on your own? If this is true, why on earth did you get married in the first place?
Ignoring the implied and overt rudeness which comes with this statement, it’s not a sentiment I share. Of course everyone, regardless of gender, is capable of great worldly success by their own merit. You can do anything you set your mind to if properly driven. As Fr. Mike Schmitz highlighted in his Catechism in a Year series, no human on Earth is half-made. God created us to be complete beings in His image, each a union of the body and soul. But without each other, we are unable to carry out God’s ultimate will for us to “be fruitful and multiply.” Men and women are complements to each other, both equally necessary to share in God’s work of creation.
Can you honestly say that there is any undertaking in life that would not be improved and made easier by the assistance of a supportive and loving spouse? Are you really so flawlessly competent that you’re better equipped to take on the world on your own than beside a man who has promised to cherish and protect you? We are a society so utterly incapable of admitting our own deficiencies that we would rather spend our lives alone and hurt our loved ones in the process than confess the reality that we might actually need them, that we are in fact better together.
Yes, I need my man. I’m human, fallen and in need of God’s saving grace. I’m error prone and could have easily been distracted on many occasions from the path to holiness if not for the man walking beside me, and we’ve barely been married a year. I was successful, independent and financially stable before I ever met my husband and my life has become infinitely better since then. It brings me unending relief and joy to follow him as we both journey toward the Kingdom of Heaven.
The Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus
Every now and then, the reality of my Catholic infancy is driven home in a moment of ignorance as was the case last week when I almost missed a very important day on the liturgical calendar. On June 16th Catholics everywhere celebrated the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. This was the Friday following the Corpus Christi octave and, much like Divine Mercy Sunday, this Catholic feast calls to mind God’s unconditional love for us. Out of this love He sent His only Son to live among us and with a human heart, thereby enabling our salvation brought forth through Christ’s death and resurrection.
“We love because He first loved us.” (John 4:19) Although the feast has come and gone, the entire month of June is dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the perfect time to begin or renew this particular devotion to our Lord.
An Objective Opinion
I’ve been known to gush about my mom in writing on a number of occasions. She’s every bit the sort of aggressively hospitable woman I strive to be. She’s passionate, spontaneous and extremely pushy when it comes to her loved ones living their best lives. However, today’s post is about Dad, the generally unsung hero in our lives; a man of logic and straight lines and hard work.
Throughout my childhood the need for two loving parents, a mother and a father, was always abundantly clear to me. They serve very different purposes for their children. Dad was the objective opinion in our household and still is to this day. He’s the calm voice of reason in times of crisis, whether that crisis be my broken down Audi halfway between my summer internship and school or a big breakup with my long-time college boyfriend. He’s my go-to when work gets tough or the AC goes out in my house and was the help hotline the first time I did my taxes.
Even before we came to the Catholic faith, my dad embodied the ideals of St. Joseph, the patron saint of families, fathers, engineers and workers to name a few. Over the years, my dad’s constant mission was to provide and care for our family. It was far from easy at times and there were many long nights at the office but he always made sure to be home for dinner. Thanks to his dedication, my sister and I enjoyed a carefree childhood of bedtime stories and goodnight kisses, memories which we both still cherish to this day.
As we grew up and began to encounter trials of our own, we were always able to lean on his example. It’s why anything less than our best never quite cut it in our house. I also know that many of the blessings that my sister and I enjoy are largely due to the constant prayers which my parents send up on our behalf. Thanks Dad, for all of the prayers and objective opinions over the years. We love you!
He’s a Romantic
We recently passed one year as husband and wife and did not miss the opportunity to celebrate. I’m still baffled at the lengths to which the hubby will go to woo and spoil me. After driving for less than an hour we came to Serenity Springs, a set of romantic cabins for two tucked in the woods. They were complete with idyllic ponds filled with friendly ducks, geese and one polite swan as well as some short walking and biking trails through the trees. Our two short but happy days honeymooning at the cabin were the perfect way to welcome in our second year of married life. All of this was entirely planned and orchestrated by my wonderful man. Thank God for sending me such a romantic!
The Near Occasion of Sin
For a large portion of my life I believed, as many people do, that my actions mattered more than my thoughts. I was raised to be a good law abiding citizen, to respect my elders, to be kind and courteous and compassionate to everyone, whether I liked them or not. However, I also felt free to think whatever I wanted. By this logic I could judge random folks on the street for everything from their poor taste in shoes to their questionable smoking habits so long as I remained polite and civil in my words and actions. I could call my sister all manner of unfortunate names when she annoyed me as long as it was only in my mind. I could engage in a profane and road ragey tirade every time someone cut me off in traffic as long as this tirade could never be perceived by fellow drivers.
Thought matters. God knows our hearts and our minds. It’s why we graciously thank our friends and family for all of those birthday presents that we didn’t even ask for. It really is the thought that counts and even if we didn’t get exactly what we wanted we know that those gifts all came from places of love.
Our thoughts precede our words and actions which is why it’s generally far easier to avoid negative temptations altogether than to try to resist them. This is exactly what we are called to do as Catholics. At the conclusion of every Catholic confession the priest provides us with a penance to perform in reparation for our sins and asks us to recite an act of contrition in which we “firmly resolve with the help of God’s grace to sin no more and to avoid the near occasion of sin.” Sinful thoughts can lead us to all manner of situations in which we turn away from God; the sin of scandal, jealousy, or even the worship of false gods through addiction. In today’s fast paced world with a wealth of entertainment and information at our fingertips it’s easier than ever to fall into an endless screen addiction.
We are all called to be Christ for the world even in those moments when no one is watching. To live truly Catholic lives we must always work to keep our thoughts, words and actions clean and to approach every situation through the lens of genuine love and service for our neighbors.
God Bless the Grill Master!
This is not a nature photo but these home cooked BBQ ribs that the hubby tended for four hours on his day off looked too good not to share. I can confirm they tasted as delicious as they look. ‘Tis the season! It’s a time of year when all the grill masters take charge of Saturday night dinner and thank God for that! Although we try to live liturgically and abstain from meat on Fridays, the week is full of opportunities to fire up the grill.
Why We Chose the Unpopular Wedding Reading
“Wives should be subordinate to their husbands as to the Lord.” (Ephesians 5:2) This is a sentence that no modern, strong independent woman wants to hear. These are also the words most often pulled out of the reading and dissected under a microscope. However, if you examine the reading in its entirety you learn about the husband’s side of the bargain.
“Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved the Church.” Christ died for the Church. He suffered every kind of human torment; physical torture, humiliation, betrayal and was crucified out of love for the Church. He made the ultimate sacrifice. Obeying the man I love seems like small change in comparison. I trust my husband completely and would gladly follow him anywhere. I am totally confident that he would never do anything to deliberately hurt or humiliate me.
Marriage doesn’t mean packing up my hopes and dreams. My husband wants those things for me too, just as I want him to find success and fulfillment in his endeavors. It’s why I chose him. I’m his wife, not his slave. I always try to act in his best interest, not because I don’t love myself, but because I love him more. There are three persons in every Catholic marriage; the husband, the wife and Christ. We are called to love God, to love our spouse and to love ourselves in that order. Typical catholic marriage prep includes six to nine months of learning and discussion with each other and a priest in order to discover one another’s needs as well as potential sources of future conflict. We do this to ensure that all three parties are fully aware and confident in the decision to come together in the sacrament of marriage.
Living in the service of a spouse isn’t an indignity at all. If done correctly, I believe it’s one of the most beautiful and Catholic things we can possibly do. It’s what Christ was sent to do. “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as ransom for many.” (Mathew 20:28) Christ, the bridegroom came to serve His bride, the Church. Honestly, I can’t imagine a better way to spend the rest of my life than following and serving the man I married.
A reading from the letter of Saint Paul to the Ephesians
Brothers and sisters: Live in love, as Christ loved us and handed himself over for us. [Be subordinate to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives should be subordinate to their husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is head of his wife just as Christ is head of the Church, he himself the savior of the body. As the Church is subordinate to Christ, so wives should be subordinate to their husbands in everything.] Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved the Church and handed himself over for her to sanctify her, cleansing her by the bath of water with the word, that he might present to himself the Church in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. So also husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one hates his own flesh but rather nourishes and cherishes it, even as Christ does the Church, because we are members of his Body. For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This is a great mystery, but I speak in reference to Christ and the Church. [In any case, each one of you should love his wife as himself, and the wife should respect her husband.] The word of the Lord.
Magnolia Evenings
Blossoming magnolia trees bless nearly every street corner in Northern Indiana in the Spring, happily heralding warm summer months. During my time in Indiana I’ve made it my mission nearly every year to capture them before they shed their blushing petals.
Blessed in the Midwest 